ABOUT US

About the Beer Institute

The Beer Institute represents the $246.5 billion beer
industry. An industry that includes more than 2,800 breweries and 2 million jobs.

The Beer Institute was organized in 1986 to represent the beer industry before Congress, state legislatures and public forums across the country. It is committed to developing sound public policy that focuses on community involvement and personal responsibility.

As the recognized and authoritative source of information on aspects of the industry, the Beer Institute focuses on these principles through its representation, information and service. The Beer Institute assures a role for industry members in formulating public policy goals and works to implement our goals by providing representation before federal and state governmental bodies.

Today, the more than 2,800 breweries in the U.S. are responsible for billions of dollars that flow each year through channels of American trade and commerce. From agricultural products, can manufacturing, food processing, food stores and general retail, to wholesaling, construction and real estate, brewers, along with their wholesale and retail partners, directly or indirectly employ more than 2 million Americans who earn nearly $79 billion in wages and benefits.

Membership

You’d be hard-pressed to find a more competitive
industry than beer. Despite that competitiveness, or perhaps because of it, we
have united to represent our common interests. We are the voice of the beer industry.

Today's beer brewers and importers operate not only in a competitive marketplace, but in a complex public policy environment as well. Legislative, regulatory and social challenges can directly affect brewers' day-to-day business activities and their outlook for the future.

Membership in the Beer Institute gives brewers and importers the opportunity to work together to maintain a progressive business environment for the future.

Industry liaison to regulatory agencies such as the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, Health and Human Services, Federal Trade Commission, Department of Transportation, World Health Organization, Pan American Health Organization and many others

Beer Serves America Study: A bi-annual economic impact study, including state-by-state and congressional district breakdowns of economic contributions of the beer industry

Service

Beer Institute Annual Membership Meeting: An opportunity for brewers, importers, suppliers and others working in the brewing industry to discuss issues

Coordinating the efforts of industry attorneys and providing legal support wherever appropriate

Communication materials such as the Beer Institute monthly newsletter and Annual Report

A vocal minority of critics continues to use misleading science and slanted polling data to call for unwarranted restrictions on the beer industry. More than ever, brewers and their allies must join together to communicate to policymakers, opinion leaders and the media the facts about the industry, its issues and the significant progress that has been made in the fight against alcohol abuse.

The volatile legislative and regulatory environment in which the industry operates requires a unified, focused effort to effect change that benefits the entire brewing industry. By steering consensus and speaking with one voice before federal and state legislatures, executive branch agencies and in legal proceedings, the Beer Institute can help sustain a positive environment in which brewers and their allies do business.

Besides giving brewers a strong, credible voice in Washington, the Beer Institute provides a variety of services to help brewers succeed. The Institute's advisory committees provide member companies with a forum to discuss public policy issues affecting our industry and receive feedback on the results of industry programs. The Beer Institute also helps foster more effective relationships within the industry through a coalition that includes brewer associations, distributor associations, retail associations and allied industry groups. This coalition promotes unified action and improved communication and cooperation.

The Beer Institute is also the leading source for research and information in the brewing industry. Working with brewers, importers, suppliers, consultants and others, the Beer Institute provides data and analyses on such matters as taxation, agricultural product supplies, domestic and export sales, trends in per capita consumption and advertising expenditures, and various social indicators.

To receive a membership packet, please complete this form. Please note that the Beer Institute membership is open to brewers, importers and industry suppliers only.

Annual Reports

See our yearly reviews of how we proactively address industry
issues, including supporting jobs in our communities, responsibly advertising
and marketing beer, and paying more than our fair share in taxes.

See our yearly reviews of how we proactively address industry issues, including supporting jobs in our communities, responsibly advertising and marketing beer, and paying more than our fair share in taxes.

Responsibility

America’s
brewers and beer importers are Committed to Responsibility.

For decades, America’s brewers and beer importers have been
industry leaders in promoting the responsible consumption of their products. Their
efforts include dozens of national and community-based programs designed to
promote responsible drinking and discourage underage drinking and drunk
driving. Many of these programs are implemented in partnership with local beer
distributors, retailers, law enforcement and state and federal government
agencies, elected officials, educators, parents and others in the community.

As parents and neighbors ourselves, we recognize that misuse
of our products is unacceptable, and are concerned by issues related to their
illegal and irresponsible consumption. That’s why the Beer Institute and its
members support programs that facilitate parental conversations with children
about making smarter, safer choices; promote designated drivers and safe rides
home; and provide tools to servers and sellers of alcohol to promote
responsible sales and prevent sales to minors.

These kinds of efforts, along with the work of many other
public, private and non-profit groups nationwide, have proven to be effective.
According to research conducted by the federal government and academic
institutions, there have been significant declines in drunk-driving fatalities
and underage drinking over the past three decades. While these successes are
encouraging, more work remains. We will continue our work to enhance the
progress already achieved and further reduce these statistics.

File an Initial Advertising Complaint
If you wish to send an advertising complaint to a brewer, please send your complaint to adcode@beerinstitute.org. Your complaint will be forwarded to the appropriate brewer and the brewer will contact you with a response. This is for all complaints that have not been previously submitted to a brewer.

File a Code Compliance Review Board Complaint
The forms for filing a Code Compliance Review Board (CCRB) advertising complaint are listed below. If you have filed an initial complaint and received a response from the brewer and would like to have your complaint reviewed by the third-party Code Compliance Review Board (CCRB), you may complete the form and the third-party review process will be initiated. The CCRB will notify you of its findings.

Know Your Drink

Do you know how much alcohol is in a mixed drink compared to a beer? About the same? A little more? A lot more?

Do you know how much alcohol is in a mixed drink compared to a beer? About the same? A little more? A lot more? The answer depends on the drink, because peer-reviewed, published scientific research tells us that no two mixed drinks are the same. Know Your Drink informs consumers of the wide variety in in alcohol content from one beverage to another in typical and customary drinking occasions. Know Your Drinks helps those who choose to moderate their consumption.

Know Your Drink is a powerful tool that helps American consumers understand the differences between beer, wine and hard liquor – how they are made, served and consumed. The scientific research behind Know Your Drink demonstrates that it is a myth to say that “all alcohol is the same,” and could misinform consumers.

Preventing Underage Drinking

As
an industry, we seek to play a constructive role in addressing underage
drinking. We do not want underage consumers and therefore strive to prevent
youth access to alcohol, both at home and at retail establishments. We provide
underage drinking prevention resources for parents, educators and retailers to
help keep alcohol out of the hands of those under the legal drinking age.

As
an industry, we seek to play a constructive role in addressing underage
drinking. We do not want underage consumers and therefore strive to prevent
youth access to alcohol, both at home and at retail establishments. We provide
underage drinking prevention resources for parents, educators and retailers to
help keep alcohol out of the hands of those under the legal drinking age.

WE DON’T SERVE TEENS CAMPAIGN: Beer Institute members support the
federal government’s “We Don’t Serve Teens” program that provides parents and
other adults with tools and information they need to help reduce teen drinking.
Each year since the program began in 2007, the Beer Institute with members
Anheuser-Busch, Crown Imports, HEINEKEN USA and MillerCoors have actively
supported and promoted the campaign’s national efforts. All of
these activities work to enhance recognition of the
campaign’s message and direct the public to the program website.

ANHEUSER-BUSCH COMMUNITY SPEAKERS: Anheuser-Busch’s Community
Speakers deliver messages about responsibility and respect for the law to
students, parents, educators, community groups and military personnel around
the country.

ANHEUSER-BUSCH FAMILY TALK ABOUT DRINKING: Family Talk About Drinking is an
underage drinking prevention program created by Anheuser-Busch more than 20
years ago. In 2011, in collaboration with certified parent coach MJ Corcoran,
Family Talk was extended to social media and expanded to become a program that
parents can turn to throughout their kids’ lives. Parents
can join the online community at www.Facebook.com/ABFamilyTalk.

HEALTH ALLIANCE ON ALCOHOL: HEINEKEN
USA is a founding member of the Health Alliance on Alcohol (HAA), a national
education initiative on underage consumption of alcohol through parent/child
communications. HAA member organizations include the New York-Presbyterian
Healthcare System, Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital, White Plains Hospital
Center and HEINEKEN USA. The series of physician-authored books is offered herewith subjects
including underage drinking, peer pressure, alcohol and teen driving and
prom/graduation season.

ID
PROGRAMS: Through the Operation ID and We ID programs,
Anheuser-Busch, MillerCoors and their distributors offer retailers training and
a variety of point-of-sale materials to help prevent sales to underage persons.Program
elements include “We ID” signage in cooler cases and at the point of purchase,
as well as Driver’s License Guides for store clerks and bartenders that contain
examples of valid licenses in all 50 states, U.S. territories, and Canadian
provinces.

LET’S KEEP TALKING: This
guide helps parents of teenagers talk with their children about making
responsible decisions, including the decision to wait until they are 21 to
consume alcohol, and remind teens of societal expectations that they obey the
law and of the consequences of making poor decisions.

OPERATION
TEEN PROOF (OTP): First launched in 2002 in
Westchester County, NY, OTP was developed by a partnership between the District
Attorney’s office and HEINEKEN USA. Each county program provides license tampering
detection devices to all retail alcohol outlets in that county. Because of its
success, OTP has been adopted by other local law enforcement agencies, as
technologies allow, and has expanded to more than 33 counties throughout New
York and beyond.

RESPECT 21® RESPONSIBLE RETAILING: A comprehensive,
academically evaluated program to enhance and improve retailers’ efforts to
thwart the sale of alcohol to those under 21, the Respect 21 Responsible
Retailing program was developed in partnership with MillerCoors, Brandeis
University and the Responsible Retailing Forum. The program provides best
practice tools, resources, legal age mystery shopper inspections and measurable
results.

RESPONSIBLE
MEANS 21: HEINEKEN USA underscores its serious message of
responsibility by specifically outlining that Responsible Means 21. Local and
regional underage drinking prevention programs, including partnerships with law
enforcement, can be found on the supporting website.

THE
BARS (BEING AN ALCOHOL RESPONSIBLE SERVER) PROGRAM: BARS
is a “secret shopper” program that helps keep servers and sellers vigilant
about checking IDs. These services are presented to retail accounts as a way
for them to bolster their seller training programs and help avert sales to
minors. MillerCoors is a proud sponsor of this retail-based program.

Promoting Responsibility on College Campuses

Because college presents
students with new freedoms and opportunities, it’s an important time to
continue talking with young people about alcohol, reminding them to make the
right choices when it comes to acting responsibly and obeying the law

Since
college campuses are a mix of underage students and students 21 and older, two
major messages are included in our college efforts. One reinforces that beer is
for those 21 and older, reminding underage students to refrain from consuming
it. The other emphasizes the importance of drinking responsibly to those who
are 21 and older. Outreach to of-age
students includes programs to reduce irresponsible consumption and the purchase
of alcohol for underage friends. Through longstanding university-and
community-based initiatives and a variety of on-campus programs, the beer
industry is working to raise awareness among all students and their parents in
an effort to prevent underage drinking, reduce drunk driving, and keep students
healthy and safe.

TIPS® (TRAINING FOR INTERVENTION PROCEDURES) FOR THE UNIVERSITY: TIPS®
offers a specialized peer-to-peer education program designed for fraternities,
sororities and residence halls. The training program teaches students, dorm advisors
and on- and off-campus servers techniques for serving alcohol responsibly,
intervening in a non-confrontational manner and spotting fake IDs.

BUDWEISER DESIGNATED DRIVER PROGRAMS: To help prevent drunk driving,
Anheuser-Busch, its distributors and local retailers in college communities
across the country work to promote the use of designated drivers among
legal-aged college students. The concept employs common sense: when a group of
friends visits a bar or restaurant, they select one individual who refrains
from drinking on that occasion. In exchange for being named the designated
driver, the individual typically receives free or reduced-price food and
non-alcohol beverages from participating retailers.

COLLEGIATE EFFIE PSA COMPETITION: The HEINEKEN USA-supported
Collegiate Effie/Public Service Challenge tasks students with creating a public
service campaign, in an effort to communicate how consumers should focus on
responsible and legal alcohol consumption.

FACTS & CONVERSATION SERIES: HEINEKEN USA is a founding member
of the Health Alliance on Alcohol, an organization which publishes the Facts
& Conversations Series. This series offers parents a set of discussion
guides on beginning conversations on underage drinking with their teens,
including topics specifically addressing the college-age years.

GREAT PLAYS GRANT PROGRAM: The Great Plays grant program
provides funding for eligible universities to prevent and intervene in the
drinking behaviors and harmful consequences of alcohol abuse among their
students. ABMRF/The Foundation for Alcohol Research partners with MillerCoors
in this program, serving as an independent, scientific consultant for the
review of the grant applications.

NCAA
FOUNDATION CHOICES GRANT PROGRAM: The National Collegiate
Athletic Association (NCAA) Choices grant program is funded by a $2.5 million
gift from Anheuser-Busch. The program has provided grants to 244 universities
nationwide since 1991 to support campus-specific alcohol abuse prevention and
awareness programs.

PROMOTING SOCIAL NORMS: Social Norms programs reduce harmful drinking and
related behaviors on college campuses and reinforce the fact that the majority
of college students are making responsible choices when it comes to drinking.
Anheuser-Busch works with campuses and has invested more than $9.5 million to
support social norms programs at universities across the country since 1999.

THE BACCHUS NETWORK™: Anheuser-Busch is a leading
supporter of the BACCHUS Network™, an association of college- and
university-based programs focusing on promoting positive peer pressure as a way
to encourage alcohol responsibility, among other health and safety issues.

Preventing Drunk Driving

Members of the beer industry work diligently to stop
drunk driving. We want the roadways to be free from drunk drivers for ourselves
and our families, too.

And we believe that drunk driving is completely
preventable. Research shows that tremendous progress has been made in reducing
drunk driving. Statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration show that drunk driving fatalities have decreased 51 percent
since 1982 and 21 percent over the past five years. While these numbers are
encouraging, the number of drunk-driving deaths annually in the U.S. is still
too high and that sustained efforts are needed to keep drunk drivers off the
roads. Through a variety of programs and joint efforts with law enforcement
agencies, distributors, retailers and others, we remain committed to reducing drunk
driving.

SOBERRIDE™:
Alternative transportation programs such as the Washington Regional Alcohol
Program’s (WRAP) SoberRide™ help keep local roads safe from drunk drivers
during traditionally high-risk holiday periods. The program runs on St.
Patrick’s Day, July 4th, Halloween and nightly for more than two weeks during
the December holiday season and provides free cab fare, up to $30, for greater
Washington, D.C. area residents. Since 1993, WRAP’s SoberRide™ program has
provided nearly 58,000 rides.

1-800-TAXICAB:
MillerCoors offers consumers a national taxi dispatch service with
an easy-to-remember number when planning safe or alternative transportation.
Cab vouchers are available to consumers as a part of local promotions and
advertised in radio, print and social media, including the Miller Lite Taxi
Finder app.

BUDWEISER DESIGNATED DRIVER PROGRAMS: Anheuser-Busch and its nationwide
network of distributors implement numerous Budweiser Designated Driver programs
in markets throughout the country to promote the use of designated drivers at
bars, restaurants and home gatherings.

BUDWEISER
RACING DESIGNATED DRIVER PROGRAM: To promote the use of
designated drivers to stock car racing fans, Anheuser-Busch has developed
point-of-sale programs around the popular driver of its iconic Budweiser car.
The program, which features print ads, outdoor ads and promotional consumer
items, also communicates designated driver messages through PSAs at racetracks
and messages to fans from the Budweiser driver through social media.

BUD LIGHT SAFE RIDE HOME PROGRAMS: Bud Light supports a
variety of programs and partnerships, such as Bud Light Alert Cab and Bud Light
Tow to Go, designed to help consumers make the responsible decision of having a
safe ride home after an outing that includes drinking. More than 2.1 million
safe rides have been provided through cab and shuttle programs since 1989.

FREE RIDES®: Free Rides® provide free
public transportation on popular holidays such as New Year’s Eve and St.
Patrick’s Day. This drunk driving prevention and community service program
helps keep roads safe by encouraging adults to use public transit when
returning from holiday celebrations. MillerCoors teams with public transit
companies, law enforcement and community organizations to provide this program.
Since its inception, more than 3 million people have taken advantage of this
program for a safe ride home.

GLOBAL BE(ER) RESPONSIBLE DAY: Global Be(er) Responsible Day is
an annual company-wide initiative at Anheuser-Busch InBev, in which thousands
of employees across the globe visit bars, restaurants, grocery and convenience
stores and other retail outlets to promote responsible drinking and the use of
designated drivers.

HOLIDAY SAFE RIDE PROGRAMS: In conjunction with certain
holidays and event sponsorships, Crown Imports helps ensure consumers celebrate
safely and also helps reduce drunk-driving incidents. Crown launched a program
in 2010 to provide full-fare public rail and bus cards to thousands of
consumers in Chicago and Washington, DC during Cinco de Mayo and the December
holiday season. In addition, Crown with its local distributors provided reduced
cab fare vouchers and free rickshaw (bicycle-powered carts) rides in Huntington
Beach, CA during their sponsorship of the U.S. Open of Surfing.

MILLERCOORS DESIGNATED DRIVER
PROGRAMS: MillerCoors supports
designated driver programs in connection with promotions, events and sporting
alliances such as the National Hockey League and NASCAR. In partnership with
its brands, MillerCoors lets beer drinkers know that they need to plan ahead
and use a designated driver because “You hold the key. Never Drive Drunk.”
Through online pledging and in-person activations, thousands of people have
made the right decision to get home safely.

NATIONAL
SAFE BOATING COUNCIL: Anheuser-Busch partners with the
National Safe Boating Council, the foremost coalition for the advancement and
promotion of safer boating through education, to deliver general water safety
messages to boaters as well as promoting the use of designated skippers while
out on the water.

RECREATION
SPORTS SAFETY PROGRAMS:
Through its brands, Anheuser-Busch supports a variety of programs designed to
promote safety and responsibility involving recreational sports. Examples
include the Bud Light Lime Water Safety Program and Budweiser Hunting Safety
Program.

TAXI MAGIC: HEINEKEN USA sponsors Taxi Magic, a smartphone
application that connects consumers to a taxicab no matter where they are in
the U.S. This dynamic application is modern, easy to use and offers consumers a
ready alternative to driving. HEINEKEN USA has included Taxi Magic event
activations and local sponsorships to encourage responsible consumption.

Encouraging Responsible Consumption

As
committed members of communities across the nation, America’s brewers,
importers and beer distributors are deeply invested in ensuring our important
messages on responsible drinking reach as many people as possible.

While our beers are
enjoyed responsibly by millions of adults every day, we recognize that some
adults do not make the right choice. We continue to demonstrate our commitment
to far-reaching efforts that connect with people in their communities,
including at sporting events, restaurants, local festivals and other locations
where beer is enjoyed. These include educational efforts for alcohol retailers,
fans at sporting and entertainment venues and those planning parties for large corporations
or a few friends.

TEAM (TECHNIQUES FOR EFFECTIVE ALCOHOL MANAGEMENT) COALITION: Begun
as a program of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in 1985,
TEAM is a unique alliance of professional and collegiate sports, entertainment
facilities, stadium service providers, concessionaires, brewers, distillers,
broadcasters, government safety experts, and others united in an effort to
promote responsible drinking and positive fan behavior. TEAM’s mission is to
enhance the entertainment experience, provide effective alcohol management
training in public assembly facilities, promote responsible alcohol consumption
through the use of positive messages that reward responsible behavior, and help
to reduce negative alcohol-related incidents both in facilities and on
surrounding roadways, recognizing that the vast majority of fans are
responsible.

TIPS® (TRAINING FOR INTERVENTION PROCEDURES): Developed by Morris
Chafetz, M.D., the founding director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse
and Alcoholism, the program discusses techniques through which servers can help
prevent intoxication, drunk driving and underage drinking through a
common-sense approach to serving alcohol responsibly in any setting. TIPS
educates bartenders, wait staff and store clerks about how to properly check
IDs and identify and prevent potential alcohol abuse situations.

ANHEUSER-BUSCH “OUR WORLD. OUR RESPONSIBILITY.” CAMPAIGN: The company launched a
commitment to alcohol responsibility with the popular “Know When to Say When”
campaign in 1982, and today that message continues through numerous programs
that remind consumers, retailers and many other audiences that this is “Our
World. Our Responsibility.”

BUD LIGHT PARTY CODE: The Bud Light Party Code
encourages consumers to drink responsibly and in moderation when celebrating —
no matter the occasion. Whether it’s hosting a gathering or just hanging out
with friends, the bilingual Bud Light Party Code provides simple tips in both
English and Spanish about drinking responsibly and having a safe ride home at
the end of the evening.

BUDWEISER/BUD LIGHT GOOD SPORT: Budweiser and Bud Light’s Good
Sport program is a communications, training and management program designed to
help stadium operators, team owners and concessionaires promote positive crowd
behavior by encouraging fan responsibility at sporting events and promoting the
use of designated drivers. The program is activated in partnership with nearly
100 teams in Major League Baseball, the National Football League, National
Basketball Association, Major League Soccer and professional hockey.

BUDWEISER/BUD LIGHT SOUND ATTITUDE: The Budweiser/Bud Light Sound
Attitude program helps promote positive behavior and the use of designated
drivers among concertgoers at music event venues and festivals.

CERTIFIED ALCOHOL SERVER TRAINING (CAST): The CAST™ program is a
self-paced, self-taught certification program that addresses the sale of
alcohol at grocery stores, liquor stores, convenience stores and package
stores. Clerks learn strategies for preventing illegal alcohol sales to underage
and/or intoxicated patrons. MillerCoors is a supporter of this program.

GREAT BEER GREAT RESPONSIBILITY: MillerCoors has a dedicated
responsibility section on the company’s Facebook page to promote the
responsible consumption of beer and uses social media to remind beer drinkers
to be responsible. In addition, the Great Beer Great Responsibility brand
appears on all of the company’s domestic brand advertising and on all secondary
packaging.

LEARN2SERVE:
This program is a leading provider of government-accredited online
certification training courses and employer-learning management and reporting
systems. Learn2Serve courses are created for hotel, restaurant, bar,
convenience stores and grocery employees and managers.

Research and Partnerships

We believe a collaborative approach is the best way to
address the responsibility we all share, along with our consumers, to
consistently encourage the responsible enjoyment of beer.

And we recognize that
there is still much to learn about important alcohol issues such as consumption
patterns, how best to help consumers make responsible choices about drinking
beer and how to enforce drunk-driving and underage-drinking laws intended to
protect individuals and communities. Brewers and beer importers partner with a
variety of research and other non-profit organizations to help achieve the goal
of reduced drunk driving and underage drinking.

ABMRF/THE FOUNDATION FOR ALCOHOL RESEARCH: Supported by national
brewing and distributing associations in the United States and Canada as well
as more than 25 individual large and small brewers and brewer suppliers in the
United States, ABMRF is the largest, independent, non-profit foundation in
North America devoted solely to supporting research on the effects of alcohol
on health, behavior and prevention of alcohol-related problems. It has
supported research projects by more than 500 academic investigators at more
than 200 universities and research institutions across North America. The
partnership between ABMRF and the U.S. brewing industry began in 1982.

WASHINGTON REGIONAL ALCOHOL PROGRAM (WRAP): WRAP is an award-winning,
public-private coalition formed to fight drunk driving, drugged driving and
underage drinking in the Washington metropolitan area through public education,
innovative health education programs and advocacy.

ALCOHOL MEDICAL SCHOLARS PROGRAM: The Alcohol Medical Scholars
Program promotes optimal education in medical schools regarding the
identification and care of people with alcohol use disorders and other
substance-related problems. Anheuser-Busch and the Alcohol Medical Scholars
Program have been partners since 1999.

RADD:
RADD, The Entertainment Industry’s Voice for Road Safety (formerly
Recording Artists, Actors and Athletes Against Drunk Driving), is an internationally
recognized non-profit organization that empowers celebrities and media partners
to create positive attitudes about road safety. Founded in 1986, RADD advocates
the use of designated drivers, seat belts and safe driving through control behind
the wheel and making responsible behavior the norm.

TRAFFIC INJURY RESEARCH FOUNDATION (TIRF): A national, independent
road safety institute whose mission is to reduce traffic-related deaths and
injuries, TIRF achieves its mission by designing, promoting and implementing
effective strategies based on sound research. Anheuser-Busch and TIRF have been
partners since 1990, and Beer Institute has been supporting TIRF since 2004. In
2004, with support from Anheuser-Busch, TIRF formed a Working Group on DWI
System Improvements dedicated to identifying initiatives for improving the DWI
system, promoting successful programs, and continuing to bring organizations
together to create positive change.

LAW
ENFORCEMENT PARTNERSHIPS: Brewers and beer importers partner
with state and local law enforcement agencies across the country to promote
messages of personal responsibility, such as wearing seat belts and designating
a driver. These messages have taken many forms, including PSAs and billboards.

Environmental Responsibility

Over the past several decades, the American beer
industry has been recognized for its commitment to protecting and improving our
environment.

Through
conserving energy and water, reusing byproducts and waste, reducing greenhouse
gas emissions and establishing comprehensive recycling programs, the brewing
industry has asserted itself as a leading environmental steward.

Many brewers have constructed water treatment facilities to reduce the
volume of water used in brewing. They have also taken advantage of
environmentally sound energy sources such as wind and solar power. Many brewers
also capture a biogas that is a byproduct of brewing processes and use it as an
energy source for the brewery, reducing fossil fuel usage. Brewers also
emphasize environmental awareness through their efforts to promote educational
and conservational programs. Please click here to view the Beer Institute’s environmental brochure.

Audio Clips

Title: What is Beer Serves AmericaDescription: Beer Serves America is an independent analysis that documents how much beer stimulates the economy, creates jobs and pays taxes. Last year beer contributed more than $246 billion to the economy.

Title: Jobs Involved in the Beer IndustryDescription: Every brewery supports dozens of suppliers, from can- and bottle-manufacturers to barley farmers, hops-producers, and many more. In total, more than 2 million people are at work because of beer.

Title: Wages & Benefits from Beer
Description: Wages and benefits from brewers,
distributors and retailers totaled more than $31.5 billion in 2012.

Title: Depth of Economic ImpactDescription: Brewing is a major industry. The combined economic impact of brewers, distributors, retailers and our supply-chain partners totaled more than $246 billion in 2012.

Title: Why BSA is Important
Description: Brewers are not just producing a product
that Americans enjoy, but we’re creating jobs that put middle-class Americans
to work. More than 2 million Americans are at work because of beer.

Title: Beer’s Tax BurdenDescription: Across all levels, the beer industry contributed more than $49 billion in the form of excise, business and consumption taxes to federal, state and local governments.

Title: Impact of Higher TaxesDescription: If Congress raises taxes on beer, it will be raising taxes on the American middle class. Higher beer taxes would not only increase the burden for middle-class Americans, but could lead to lay-offs for those same middle-class Americans.

Title: Don’t Overtax BeerDescription: 40 percent of what consumers pay for a beer already goes toward taxes of some kind on a national average. That makes taxes the most expensive ingredient in your beer.

BEER POLICY

Beer Policy

Organized to represent the brewing industry and its suppliers before Congress, regulatory agencies and the public, the Beer Institute is committed to developing sound public policy that focuses on community involvement and personal responsibility.

Economy

America’s
beer industry contributes more than $246 billion to our economy with more than 2,800 brewers and importers, 3,700 distributors and 576,000 retail
establishments located across the country.

Beer
boosts a wide range of industries, including farming, manufacturing,
construction, transportation, service and others in nearly every community in
the United States.

Jobs

Beer
is more than a simple pleasure. It’s a $246 billion industry supporting 2 million American jobs. We help put people to work, from farmers to factory
hands, bartenders to brewers, in nearly every community in the United States.

The
last time federal excise taxes were raised, more than 60,000 Americans lost
their jobs as a result. To do so again would be just as devastating, if not
more so.

Taxation

Every
time an American enjoys a cold, refreshing beer, 40 percent of their hard-earned money
goes to taxes. The federal government and state governments pile extra taxes on
the production and sale of beer, including regressive, invisible federal and
state excise taxes.

As an
industry, we’re proud to do our part in keeping America great. But the truth
is, brewers and beer drinkers are paying more than our fair share of taxes
already.

Taxes

Organized to represent the brewing industry and its suppliers before Congress, regulatory agencies and the public, the Beer Institute is committed to developing sound public policy that focuses on community involvement and personal responsibility.

On average, more than
40 percent of what American beer drinkers pay for a beer goes toward federal,
state and local taxes—from excise to consumption to sales taxes, as well as the
normal business taxes. That makes taxes the most expensive ingredient in beer
today.

Under
the Fair BEER Act, all brewers and beer importers would pay a rising scale of
federal excise tax:

No excise tax on the first 7,143 barrels;

$3.50/barrel on barrels 7,144-60,000;

$16/barrel on barrels 60,001-2 million;
and

$18/barrel on every barrel above 2
million.

By
imposing this “laddered” approach to all brewers and beer importers, the
legislation reforms the overall tax structure to provide the greatest relief to
the very smallest brewers. More than 90 percent of permitted brewers produce
7,143 barrels or less and would see their excise tax rates reduced from
$7/barrel to zero. The 7,143 barrel threshold was designed to meet the
definition of a “small brewer” set forth by the U.S. Department of Treasury’s
Alcohol Tobacco Tax Bureau, the agency which governs the alcohol industry.

Existing
federal excise taxes on beer are set at a rate of $18/barrel for brewers of
more than 2 million barrels (62 million gallons, or the equivalent of 110
million six-packs) and all beer importers. Since the late 70s, growth in the
small brewing sector has been encouraged by tax credits offered to brewers
which produce less than 2million barrels, cutting their excise tax rate to
$7/barrel on the first 60,000 barrels and allowing them a far lower overall
effective tax rate on all barrels up to 2 million.

Today
there are more than 3,300 breweries in the United States. More than 90 percent
of those brewers produce fewer than 7,143 barrels annually, meeting the
definition of a small brewer set by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade
Bureau (TTB). Many of those small brewers are brewpubs, which are restaurants
with brewing operations designed to sell locally.

While
the reduced tax rate for brewers has been a success in introducing new entrants
to the market, the eligibility definition of “small” at 2 million barrels
unintentionally created a barrier to further growth. By removing the production
cap to allow all brewers and beer importers relief, and graduating the relief
in such a manner that the deepest reductions in rates are reserved for the
newest entrants to the market, the Fair BEER Act reforms the beer tax without
altering the industry structure, or picking winners and losers in the
marketplace.

Standard Drink Myth

Beer has a fixed amount of alcohol - the beer brand you order at your favorite bar has the same alcohol in it as the one ordered across town or available for sale at your grocery store. The same is not true for a mixed drink - no two mixed drinks have the same amount of alcohol.

Standard Drink Myth

For more than 200 years, U.S. policymakers have recognized the significant differences between beer and hard liquor, and that laws and regulations governing the two should be different. The false notion that “a drink is a drink” is easily dispelled with a careful look at the facts.

The differences between beer and hard liquor include their alcohol concentration, the way each is produced and consumed, and the level of positive social involvement of each in local communities.

Beer has a much lower alcohol concentration than hard liquor. Not all alcohol drinks are equal. A standard Scotch on the rocks is equal to 1.5 beers, while a Long Island Iced Tea contains as much alcohol as five beers. Another way to look at this is that a gallon of beer is less than a 12-pack, whereas a gallon of hard liquor is the equivalent of more than 85 beers.

Not only is the alcohol content of a beer “fixed,” so is the typical package size, giving consumers greater control and more opportunity to drink responsibly. When a consumer buys a 12 oz. bottle or can of beer, that alcohol amount is set. On the other hand, hard liquor is a concentrated product, meaning the alcohol content of drinks can vary depending on how much liquor is mixed and who is mixing it.

– The most common way to consume hard liquor, through mixed drinks, results in the widest variation in alcohol content among alcohol beverages.

– The 1.5 oz. “standard serving” of hard liquor is unrealistic; the average pure alcohol content of many popular drinks is more than 70 percent higher than the mythical ‘standard serving.’ A cursory Internet search of popular liquor websites finds mixed-drink recipes calling for more than 4 oz. of hard liquor in a single serving – three times the so-called “standard serving.”

Given these simple facts, suggestions that a mixed drink such as a 4 oz. martini made of 80-proof hard liquor is “the same” as a glass of beer with 4.6 Alcohol By Volume can be easily dismissed as untrue. There are major differences between beer, wine and hard liquor — both in what they are made of and how they are used — and they deserve separate tax and regulatory treatment.

Beer is the moderate choice. Beer is made of wholesome ingredients, such as barley, hops, yeast and local water. Once you get to know your drink, you will know that beer is the right choice.